Aug. 17, 1807: 'Fulton's Folly' Steams up the Hudson

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Aug. 17, 1807: 'Fulton's Folly' Steams up the Hudson

1807: Robert Fulton's steamboat Clermont leaves New York harbor for a trip up the Hudson River to Albany, New York. It is carrying paying passengers, marking the first commercial use of an invention that has more detractors than defenders.

Fulton didn't invent the steamboat, as he is often credited with doing, but he was the first to make a commercial success with this odd, somewhat ungainly vessel.

Originally intent on becoming a painter, Fulton was studying art in London and Paris but getting few commissions so, to avoid becoming the proverbial starving artist he indulged in another passion: engineering. While in Paris, he designed an experimental submarine that impressed Robert Livingston, the American ambassador to France. With Livingston's backing, Fulton also designed a small steamboat that was tested on the River Seine.

After Fulton married the ambassador's niece, Livingston told him, in effect, "You should be back home designing steamboats."

So he went.

Steamboats had existed for a while but were considered dangerous and unstable, making them basically unsuitable for anything beyond their novelty value. Napoleon had dismissed the idea of steam-powered ships when Fulton broached the subject while still in France.

Nevertheless, he persevered and by 1807 "Fulton's Folly," as the local wags christened the Clermont, was ready to go. It was a leisurely trip, taking 32 hours to reach the state capital while steaming along at about 5 mph.

In fact, the main problem with early steamboats was their tendency to be grossly underpowered. Newer boats, equipped with bigger engines, were not only capable of faster speeds but now had the power to navigate the swells and eddies of America's inland rivers, their primary stomping grounds. Fulton was out of the game by then, though, a respectable East Coast businessman.